Density-dependent regulation of the sex ratio in an annual plant

The American Naturalist
Marcel E Dorken, John R Pannell

Abstract

Sex ratios are subject to strong frequency-dependent selection regulated by the mating system and the relative male versus female investment. In androdioecious plant populations, where males co-occur with hermaphrodites, the sex ratio depends on the rate of self-fertilization by hermaphrodites and on the relative pollen production of males versus hermaphrodites. Here, we report evolutionary changes in the sex ratio from experimental mating arrays of the androdioecious plant Mercurialis annua. We found that the progeny sex ratio depended strongly on density, with fewer males in the progeny of plants grown under low density. This occurred in part because of a plastic adjustment in pollen production by hermaphrodites, which produced more pollen when grown at low density than at high density. Our results provide support for the prediction that environmental conditions govern sex ratios through their effects on the relative fertility of unisexual versus hermaphrodite individuals.

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Citations

Sep 1, 2009·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Benoit PujolJohn R Pannell
Jul 23, 2011·PloS One·Julia Sánchez Vilas, John R Pannell
Sep 7, 2012·PloS One·Johannes M H Knops, Walter D Koenig
Jul 21, 2015·The New Phytologist·John R PannellAlice A Winn
Aug 11, 2010·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·Lutz Fromhage, Hanna Kokko
Mar 13, 2014·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·J R PannellR Berjano
Mar 1, 2016·Molecular Ecology·Christine Ewers-SaucedoJohn P Wares
Jan 23, 2015·Molecular Ecology·John R Pannell
Mar 17, 2009·Current Biology : CB·Marcel E Dorken, John R Pannell
Aug 18, 2012·Annals of Botany·Julia Sánchez Vilas, John R Pannell
Jun 17, 2018·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·Marcel E Dorken, Wendy E Van Drunen
May 14, 2019·American Journal of Botany·Guillaume G Cossard, John R Pannell
Jun 20, 2020·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·Francisco Encinas-VisoJohn R Pannell
Aug 27, 2017·Scientific Reports·Julia Sánchez Vilas, John R Pannell

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